Stephen
For information on this character in the cartoon, see Stephen (cartoon). Stephen is a character in the Wayside School books. He is one of the many students in Mrs. Jewls's class. Appearance In the books, Stephen is a student with green hair. Presumably it was likely blond originally, but it was dyed green due to him swimming in a pool with too much chlorine. His regular outfit consists of a polo shirt and blue jeans. However, he often shows up to school in strange outfits, like in "Stephen," where he wears a goblin costume costume consisting of blue face paint, fake purple ears, his sister's pink dancing shoes, and a green leotard that matches his hair. In "A Story That Isn't About Socks," he wears a three-piece suit consisting of a gray jacket, gray trousers, and a grey vest. He wears a red and gold striped tie, and hard black shoes. The other students find this outfit silly, but he says it helps him look very important. Personality Stephen is a student who values being viewed as "important" by his classmates, as seen most notably in "A Story That Isn't About Socks," where he chokes himself with his necktie in hopes that his classmates will think he looks more important and handsome. However, this isn't the only chapter where this occurs, as Stephen also holds leadership roles in "Myron," "Terrence," and "Nancy." In "Myron," he takes the role of class president after Myron is removed from the position after showing up late, in "Terrence," he leads a game of Spud with Leslie, Calvin, Joe, and John, and in "Nancy," he wishes to be Mrs. Jewls when everyone in class is trading names. In "Stephen," he gets concerned after the rest of the class starts laughing at him, as he worries he looks ridiculous, but is reassured when the ghost of Mrs. Gorf shows up and states that she can show up early because Halloween is on a Sunday. Stephen often attempts to deflect criticism, as seen in "Stephen," where he tries to paint the rest of the class as ridiculous for not wearing their Halloween costumes, and in "A Story That Isn't About Socks," where he explains to the rest of the class why his three-piece suit makes him look important after everyone else tries to ridicule him. In "Santa Claus," he tries to cover his ears and refute Kathy when she says she doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Stephen seems to be passionate in his work, particularly around the holidays, as seen in the three chapters he has major roles in. Occasionally, Stephen will try to be the center of attention, such as in "Homework," where he tries to start talking about an experience he had with socks in the middle of Mac's story. Mac questions what it has to do with his socks, and Stephen shrugs. Stephen may have some difficulty catching on to certain concepts, as it takes him a week to figure out how to work the light switch in "Myron," but eventually he catches on and becomes a good class president. Relationships Jason In the books, Stephen's best friend is Jason, as first shown in "Stephen." Despite this, Jason also takes part in mocking Stephen's costume, finding it ridiculous like the rest of the class, and even being the first to insult it. However, most of their other relations have been positive. In "Teeth," the two are playing with a ball together when Terrence steals it. In "Why Boys and Girls Are Silly," Jason and Stephen are the only two kids Allison invites to her birthday party. In "The New Teacher," Stephen whispers to Jason that Mrs. Drazil said "brassiere" out loud in class, while in "Jane Smith," Jason quickly tells Stephen when he found Dr. Jane Payne. Allison While Allison is rarely seen interacting with Stephen, he is one of the two boys Allison invites to her birthday party in "Why Boys and Girls Are Silly," implying they may be on good terms. However, Allison may have only invited him because she's secretly friends with Jason, and wanted to invite him to her party. Appearances For a list of every chapter Stephen is seen in, see here. Trivia *Stephen is the last student to receive a chapter in Sideways Stories from Wayside School. *Hair turning green from a swimming pool actually isn't a result of chlorine, but rather hard metals. Alongside this, it can be washed out, which doesn't occur when Stephen tries washing it in "Stephen." Gallery See a gallery for Stephen here. Category:Characters Category:Students Category:Children Category:Mrs. Jewls's class Category:Males Category:Introduced in Sideways Stories from Wayside School Category:Alive characters